Possess
by Wakkowarnerlover
Summary: Perry finally manages to locate the boys in one of Dennis's hideouts, but his troubles are far from over when Dennis's late assistant, Wizard, figures out how to possess Perry for short periods of time. Perry must stop Wizard before he takes over Perry's body forever. (NOTE: SOME THINGS MAY NOT MAKE SENSE WITHOUT READING MY OTHER FICS)
1. Chapter 1

"Happy, happy Valentine's day!" Pinky said, carrying a huge box of flowers, candy and hearts into Perry's lair.

Perry didn't look at him. "What is that junk doing here?"

"Aw, come on." Pinky said, plopping the box in front of him. "You keep an old moldy sandwich and a stitch in a box, but you think my valentines are junk?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Cheer up! Just because you're technically single, that doesn't mean you have to mope all day. Love is in the air!" Pinky spun around. "And not just for us. I heard Isabella say she was going to give a valentine to Phineas."

"If she can find him." Perry muttered.

"Huh?"

"I'm not in the mood, Pinky. Take your stupid hearts and flowers out of here."

"I'd think you'd be super happy today. You're finally home! Bernie rescued you from Danville Wood!"

Devon the dog climbed out from inside the box. Candy spilled onto the floor. "And he saved me, too!"

"How long have you been in there?" Pinky asked.

"I was lying in here when you started putting stuff in." Devon said. "I decided to just keep quiet so I wouldn't freak you out."

"Get out before I kick you out." Perry growled. "Both of you."

"Somebuddy's gwumpy." Devon said sweetly. "Does somebuddy need a songy woo?"

"NO." Perry said.

"OOOHHHHHH…" Devon sang.

Pinky and Devon staggered out of Perry's lair a few moments later. The door slammed behind them. Pinky had flowers and candy hearts all over him. Devon had the box smashed on his head.

"I think that went well." Devon said.

"Something's bugging him." Pinky said. "I wish we knew what it was."

Devon pulled the box off of his head. "You mean he seemed more grumpy than usual? I thought he was going easy on us. Usually he gives me a black eye or something when he's in a rotten mood."

"Maybe he's sad because…"

"He didn't get to hear the rest of my song." Devon interrupted. He went over to the door. "Love, it's always there for you! Just look around, and I'll be there, lovin' you, forevvveerrr!"

"SHUT UP YOUR MOUTH OR I'LL RIP IT OUT!" Came the reply.

"Yeah, he's definitely been less grumpy before." Pinky said.

* * *

"Are you going to come to the valentine party?" Peter asked through the door.

"No." Perry said. "I hate parties. You know that."

He sat against the door, drawing up a map of every rogue hideout he knew about. If he only knew where the rogues were keeping…

"There will be cupcakes. Chocolate, with pink frosting."

"Go away, panda."  
"And red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. You like red velvet. And cookies and punch and…"  
"Will you leave me alone?"  
"Can I at least deliver your valentines? They're getting kind of heavy."

"Heavy?" Perry opened the door.

Peter walked in very slowly, balancing a pile of valentines and roses on top of a giant stuffed bear.

The stuffed bear got caught in the door.

"Who are these from?" Perry demanded.

"Help… me…" Peter said.

Perry tugged on the bear. Finally, it came through.

Peter dropped his load, relieved. "Whew. Thanks so much."

"Who are these from?"

"Well, seventeen of those flowers and valentines are from some agent named Anonymous. I don't think we know that one. And the bear is from Devon. And the rest are mostly from girls."

"Where am I supposed to put this stuff?"

"Um… I don't know."

Perry sighed and slumped down against the wall.

"Are you okay?"

"Stuff. Happening. That's all."  
"Want to talk?"  
"No. I couldn't tell you."

"I wouldn't understand?"

"Sort of."

Peter nodded. "Okay. Well, join the party if you want to."  
Perry rested his head against his bear.

"You look upset."

Perry shrugged. "I'll be fine. Thanks for the flowers and stuff."

"I didn't send you a flower. I sent you a valentine." Peter said.

"Whatever. Thanks."

* * *

There were ten different rogue hideouts, and Dennis had stupidly posted the locations of each one online.

Perry first looked for the one closest to Danville Wood, but there were two different ones that were the same distance away. There was another one that was about a mile father from those two, but it was too small to use for anything other than holding a volleyball captive.

Perry groaned and slammed his head down on the desk. How was he supposed to find Phineas and Ferb? He couldn't just barge randomly into every single hideout and search them. He'd be no good to the boys if he was caught.

At least he had one advantage: Dennis thought he was dead. He had left Perry to hang upside down on a tree branch, but two beavers, Johnny Sue and Bobby Jane, had rescued him.

So Dennis wouldn't expect an attack on his hideouts. He didn't have anything that any agent besides Perry would be interested in.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Dennis had also taken Musty, Theo and Meej captive, the babies of Agent F, a ferret. But Ferret didn't know that. She probably just thought her babies had gotten lost or something.

"I need to know something." Perry said to no one in particular. "I need to know where they are."

The only thing he could think of to do was tell Monogram. But that wouldn't be easy. Perry would be relocated… and then fired… and in big trouble.

But if that was all he had to do to save the boys…

A crash came from his closet, scattering his thoughts. Perry picked up his raygun and slowly walked toward the closet door.

He threw the door open. Sandy, a white dog with blue eyes, was sitting in a pile of papers. "Sorry. I was trying to be quiet."  
Perry put down his ray. "Why are you in my closet?"

"I thought you needed help."

"With rearranging my papers?"

"I can't see much." Sandy said. "But I can see a little."  
Perry sighed. When Sandy got into her futuristic vision mode, it was kind of hard to get anything that made sense out of her.

"Fine. Tell me what will happen if I tell-"

"You cannot tell Monogram." Sandy shook her head. "Because you are going to find out what to do yourself."  
"Okay…"

"You will find… a… satellite? And then… you will find… they might be human, but they're small… and I can't tell how many…"  
"Two boys?"  
Sandy's eyes lit up. "Yes. I see a little bit of pain… brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes, golden eyes… you are not there. You are… down. I only see down. You are up. You are back."

"You are making no sense." Perry said.

Sandy gave him a sad look. "That is all I can see."

"What was all that, about different people's eye colors?"  
"Not different. They are eye colors of one person. But whoever that is… they are not there, completely. And when there are black and cyan eyes, they are not there at all."

"Thank you for clearing that up for me." Perry said sarcastically.

"Be careful." Sandy said. "The dead are trying to tamper with the living. And no good is going to come of that."  
"How can the dead tamper with the living? They're DEAD."  
"Not completely." Sandy shook herself off and crawled out of his closet. "There's a really bad smell in one of those boxes. I think it is coming from the one that says 'Memory Box' on it."

"Thanks. It's probably just my sandwich."  
Sandy left without another word.

At least Perry sort of knew what to do now. He wasn't going to tell Monogram, and then he was going to find a satellite, Phineas and Ferb, and encounter some guy who wasn't there but apparently could change his eye color every two seconds. Then he was going to go down and come back up.

It made no sense to him.

"I just hope none of it's going to be too bad for me." Perry said to himself. He hoped that he'd find whatever he needed to find soon. He missed the boys.

And he was pretty sure they were in danger.


	2. Chapter 2

"Look at this, Pinky."  
"Look at what?"

"Sideblow ran into me in the hall and gave me this." Perry held up a bottle of shampoo. "He said he had too many of these Coconutty Cavern brand shampoos and was giving them away."

"That's nice."

"So I was looking at the back. There are actually INSTRUCTIONS on the back on how to use it. Read it. It says 'Squirt a small amount into palm, lather, massage into scalp and rinse.' You'd have to be a total DOLT if you didn't know that already. Why would ANYONE need to know how to use shampoo? The knowledge is already crammed in our brains!"

"Hey, guys!" Rocky the raccoon said, coming up to them. "That groomer, Sideblow, just gave me this awesome shampoo. How do I use it?"  
Perry rolled his eyes. "Look on the back, Rocky." He said quietly.

Rocky turned over the bottle in his paws. "Cool, instructions! Okay, thanks. Bye!" He skipped away.

"Well, I guess the instructions are on there for a reason." Pinky said.

"Shut up."

"I'm back!" Said a familiar voice.

Pinky and Perry turned toward the sound. "Alan!"

"Hey!" The alligator gave them a hug. "Man, it was scary out in Danville Wood. I actually had to hunt for my food." He made a face. "But now I'm back!"

"Who found you?"

"Ellen the eagle. She's like the ultimate tracking device. She followed a bunch of…"

Alan's voice became fainter as something clicked in Perry's memory. _Tracking device_. Those words seemed important, but he couldn't remember why…

"…And did you hear about Bernie?" Alan asked. "He found this kid in the woods, and let him get away. Later he panicked, thinking the kid was Wizard. But then he was walking around and overheard Dennis talking to some other kid. He approached them, and Dennis screamed, 'Wizard, look out!' So Bernie just took a chance and pounced. But it turned out to actually BE Wizard, so now we don't have to worry about him!"

"I have to go home." Perry said, his voice shaking a little.

"Are you okay?" Alan asked. "Are you feeling sick?"

"No… I just… need to go."

* * *

Home wasn't exactly fun anymore. Linda had two theories on the disappearance of her sons: Either they had been kidnapped, or they had both planned to run away. Naturally, neither theory made her happy, and she had Lawrence calling the police every two seconds to see if the boys had been found yet. Candace was extra cranky, because she was grounded for not taking good care of the boys, and she had no one to bust.

Perry avoided being seen by any of the family as he went upstairs into the boys' room (They were all so upset that they had taken to yelling at him for no reason) and slipped quietly inside.

The room looked the same as usual, except Ferb's bed was covered with photographs of Phineas and there were random objects lying on the floor. Perry tossed a few stray clothes into the hamper and looked through Ferb's desk drawer.

There were a lot of tools and sketches for projects, and there was also a cherry candy, which Perry ate. He dug around until he finally found the sketch that jogged his memory.

It was a picture of the tracking device Ferb had used to find Phineas in Danville Wood. Ferb had said that he had placed a tracker in Phineas's sneaker. If Perry could find the tracking device…

He tried to remember what he had seen. Phineas had used his apple as a weapon when the rogues took him, Ferb had the tracking device…

But Ferb had dropped it when the rogues grabbed him.

The tracking device was probably still in Danville Wood.

Perry went into Candace's room and grabbed her map of Danville Wood off the wall (He had no idea why she had that on her wall in the first place) stuck it in his pocket, and went down to the laundry room to use the litterbox.

Unfortunately someone had neglected to leave the laundry room door open, so Perry went on the carpet in front of the door to protest.

Without any more delay, he got himself outside and ran to the woods.

* * *

Perry found Ferret digging a hole around her den. She looked furious.

"You look for suspicious activity around here, right?" Perry asked her.

Ferret looked up from her digging. "Yeah. What do you want?"

"World peace."

"I don't have time for this. My babies are gone."

"Did you ever find a tracking device around-"

"I might have. But I can't help you, sorry. I'm too busy."

"Look, I can probably help you find them if you give me the tracking device."

Ferret glared at him. "YOU know where they are?"

"What? I didn't take them!"

"Hm." Ferret folded her arms.

"Some people I know were taken along with them. They can be tracked. The babies might be in the same spot."

Ferret went into her den. She returned a few minutes later with a handheld device. "Here."

Perry took it. "Perfect. Follow me."

* * *

Perry felt his way along the stairwell until he came to a dead end.

"This can't be right." He whispered.

"This is where the tracker leads us." Ferret said. "Maybe the rogues took the tracker away from your friend and stuck it on the wall. I wouldn't put it past them."  
"I don't see the tracker."  
"Do you know what it looks like?"  
"No." Perry placed his palm on the wall. Then he knocked on it.

"Sure, like anyone's going to be behind there." Ferret said.

"The wall's hollow." Perry said. "Listen."

He knocked again. There was an echoing sound.

Perry pushed against the wall. It slid back, revealing a narrow room.

Ferret looked around. "No pups. I'm looking somewhere else." She shoved past Perry and skittered back down the stairs.

Perry entered the room.

Phineas and Ferb were chained to a wall in the back of the room. Ferb was sleeping, but Phineas was looking at the ceiling. Both of them had scratches on their faces and along their arms, were bruised, and looked paler than they had when Perry had last seen them.

"Psst." He said.

Phineas jerked back and hit the wall, covering his face with his hands.

"Chill, buddy. It's only me."

Phineas looked through his fingers. "Perry?"

Perry grinned and ran to him. Phineas patted his head. "Perry! I knew you'd come get us."

"What did they do to you? Did they hurt you? Are you-"

"I could really go for one of those corn dogs the Weavers throw into our yard." Phineas said.

"Still hungry, huh?"  
"Yeah. At least they didn't starve us. But Perry, we didn't know anything… they kept asking us questions, and we didn't know the answers…"

"Hey. You're okay now. I'll get you out of here." Perry tried to pull Phineas's hand out of its chain, but it wasn't budging. "I take it they didn't really move you from this room, huh? Have you seen the keys recently?"

"There's a key for the chain around my legs." Phineas said. "It's on the wall over there. But the hand ones… no keyhole."

Perry got the key from the wall and unlocked the leg chains. Then he reached into his fur pocket and pulled out a small laser.

"This shouldn't hurt unless I'm not paying complete attention, so don't distract me." He said. He started searing through the hand chains.

When Phineas was free, he released Ferb.

"Come on, Ferb." Phineas shook his brother awake. "We're going home."

Ferb yawned and stood up. The two boys followed Perry down the stairs.

"Be super quiet." Perry whispered. "We don't want any rogues coming to visit us."

"How long until we're out of here?" Phineas asked.

"A few minutes. We have to get through a hall, and then leave the back way."

The instant they got to the end of the stairs, Perry began to feel strangely, as though something were trying to yank him out of his body. He stopped.

"Are you okay?" Phineas asked.

"…Yeah. I just felt a little twitch." Perry coughed a bit. The feeling stopped. "It's gone now. Come on, we don't want to stay in here."

But then the feeling began again. It was stronger, and it made Perry dizzy.

Everything went black.

* * *

"Ferb and I are ready." Phineas said.

Perry was still standing in front of them, staring off into the distance. He hadn't moved since he had last spoken.

"Perhaps he is playing statue." Ferb said.

Phineas walked around Perry and turned to face him. "Ferb…"

Perry's eyes had changed color. They were becoming green, and then faded to blue, and then to gold.

Phineas took a step back. "Ferb, is it natural for platypus eyes to… um…"  
Ferb shook his head. He stood next to Phineas and watched Perry.

Perry finally started to move. He took a step toward them. The whites of his eyes became pitch black, and the irises turned a glowing blue that was almost white.

"…Perry?" Phineas asked.

Perry looked confused for a moment. Then he smiled. "Oh good, it works."

But it wasn't Perry's voice, and it certainly wasn't running through the translator in Phineas's ear. It echoed.

"Now… who are you?" Perry asked them.

"Uh… Phineas and Ferb." Phineas said. "Your owners? You've lived with us since you were a baby?"

"Pshaw. I don't care about Perry's life story."

"But… you're Perry." Phineas was more confused than ever now.

"Ha! Far from him. I hardly even KNOW Perry. I doubt I ever met the stupid animal."

"Can you bring him back?" Ferb asked. "I think you have the wrong number."

"I will leave when I am ready to." Not Perry said, his eyes glowing bright for a moment.

"Uh… okay."  
They stood facing each other for a long time.

"Do you know the way out?" Phineas asked. "Perry knew the way out."

"That depends." Not Perry spat on the ground. "Where are we?"

"I don't know, exactly." Phineas said.

"That narrows it down." Not Perry said sarcastically. "But I think I remember this place. Hold on a moment." He appeared to be thinking. "Fine. Follow me. The front door is that way."

"We're leaving the back way."

"Inconvenient, but whatever. We'll go your stinking way." Not Perry took a few steps to the left, and then froze.

He fell to the ground, and then sat up again, hacking uncontrollably.

Phineas kept his distance. Whoever Not Perry was, he sure freaked him out.

* * *

Perry finally managed to stop coughing and looked behind him.

Phineas and Ferb were watching him fearfully.

"You guys okay? I'm sorry… I blacked out there for a second… I have no idea what happened. You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"You… you…" Phineas said.

Surprisingly, Ferb was the one who explained the whole thing. Perry grew concerned as he listened.

"Normally I would think you made the whole thing up. But someone actually warned me this would happen."

"What? What would happen?" Phineas asked. "What DID happen?"

Perry shook his head. "I wish I knew."

"Let's get out of here before someone finds us." Phineas said. "And worry about all that later."

Perry led the boys out.


	3. Chapter 3

The story Phineas told Linda was this: Phineas had been going to Isabella's house when he was grabbed by a masked man and taken off to this building, where he was held captive. Ferb had gone outside for only a second one day, and the man had gotten him, too. Then Phineas and Ferb were able to escape because the man died choking on a hot dog. They had found Perry romping around in the backyard when they came home.

The police didn't seem as convinced as Linda was. "You claim you were brought straight to this building where you were held." Officer Ben said.

Phineas nodded. "Yep."

"But you look like you've been through some foliage."

"I might have. I couldn't really see. I was blindfolded." Phineas scratched his ear, something he usually did when he was nervous.

"What did this man look like?"

"I don't know. We never saw his face. He was masked."

"And yet he somehow ate his hot dog through his mask?"

"That's why he choked. There's a mouth hole, but it isn't very big."

The officer inspected Ferb's arm. "Did he have animals?"

"Huh?"  
"There are a few gashes on both of your arms that look like they were done by animal claws. The rest are knife cuts, but that mark there is definitely from some kind of rodent."

"A bunny. He had a pet bunny. It scratched us."

"You aren't giving me very much information." The officer said.

"Look, I didn't see very much, okay? Why should you care? He's dead now!"

The officer lifted his hand, and both boys jerked back.

"Abuse." The officer said. "Evidence of abuse. I asked you what happened when you were in the hands of the unknown villain, and you said 'Not much'. But you have knife cuts and bruises. And you seem to be afraid that someone will hurt you."

"I can't help it." Phineas snapped. "Your hand was really close to my face."

Perry was tempted to bite the officer, but he figured that would just land him with Animal Control.

"Stop bugging us." Phineas said.

"I don't feel like I'm getting the complete truth."

Phineas glowered. Perry took a step back. The officer had just made Phineas REALLY mad.

"Fine." Phineas spat. "Since you don't think I'm trustworthy…"

"I never said that."

"Leave us alone. We're home, the guy's dead, and there's nothing more to investigate."  
Officer Ben sighed. "All right, boys. You're right. Stay safe."

* * *

"You do NOT know what you are getting yourself into." Perry warned.

"I'll be fine, Perry." Pinky insisted. "I babysit all the time."  
"You've never babysat the nutjobs."

"I think I'll manage." Pinky looked around. "Where are they?"

"I don't know. Poppy just told me to come by and watch them. She wasn't here when I got here. But there are only three. Palmer's apparently not here."

"It's so quiet." Pinky said. "Are you sure they're in the house?"

"Maybe they ran away to China."

"ICE CREAM CAKE BOMBIE!" Shouted a high-pitched voice. A clang and a splat were audible.

"Nah, they're here. Pinky, you don't know how much I owe you. Phineas needed help with this thing, and I couldn't say no…"

"It's no problem. Go on now. I'll be good."

"Make sure you don't give them anything they can use against you." Perry instructed. "Nothing with sharp edges, bright colors or…"

"Perry, they're babies. How much trouble can they be?"

"And whatever you do, do NOT give Pamela chalk."

"Why? What will she do?"

Perry shuddered. "You don't want to know."

"Go on." Pinky said. "I promise I'll be fine."

"NITRO PONY! YEEHAWDLES!"

"No, Peppiwy, I wanna be the nitro pony!"

Another crash.

"Make sure you don't let them near the…"

"GO!" Pinky said.

* * *

The instant Perry hit the ground in a faint, the darkness around him shifted into a bright, brilliant village.

Perry sat up, confused. He was sitting on fresh green grass.

"Are you dead THIS time?" A dog poked him on the forehead, but his paw went right through. "Guess not. Oh well, at least you're awake. Welcome back."

"D… Daly?" Perry rubbed his eyes. "Wait… how…"

"You didn't have your eyes open last time." Daly said. "I was like, how can he be unconscious in Gluum? Spirits can't be unconscious! But whatever. You're here again, visiting."

"This doesn't look like Gluum." Perry said. The last time he'd been there- well, _conscious_ and there- the town had looked like something that would come out of a horror novel.

Daly looked sad. "No, it doesn't. The town has been shifting on its own."

"The last thing I remember is fainting." Perry said. "Can people faint and come to Gluum, or has it… only been… I mean, last time I remember coming, I had to fall asleep to get here…"

"When you faint, you're basically asleep." Daly snapped. "So yes. If you fainted, no wonder you're here." He took a deep breath and changed his tone. "Sorry. I've been a bit on edge lately. My head is killing me. You know, metaphorically."

"Perry!" Terrence the turkey ran over to his friend. "You're back!"

Perry grinned. "I missed you!" He wanted to hug Terrence, but he knew that wasn't going to work.

"Ever since a couple of days ago… about an hour after you came when you were unconscious… Gluum started to change." Daly said. "And I started getting my head pains."

"Strange." Perry said. "Why do you think that is?"

"Sircumference!" Daly growled, as if he had just invented a new swear word.

"Huh?"

"Let me put this in a way that you will understand." Daly sat down. "In your world, you're ruled by kings, right?"

"Um… no. We have a mayor though."

"Times have changed since I was alive." Daly muttered. "Now, are there still rebels around, or are they called something new like… bankolodles?"

"I guess you could call them rebels. People against the mayor. But I only know of one guy who doesn't like our mayor."

"Perfect!" Daly brightened. "So, say that one guy…"

"Heinz." Perry said.

"Okay. So say Heinz disobeyed the mayor, and succeeded in doing some huge crime against the mayor, and there was nothing the mayor could do. Who would lose power?"  
"The mayor?"

"Exactly. Now, I basically rule Gluum, in case you haven't noticed. And Simon Sircumference committed a huge crime against Gluum."

"What does this have to do with me coming here?"

Daly shook his head. "Perry. Do you remember fainting at some point a couple of days ago?"

"Yeah. My boys said something weird happened with my eyes, and I was talking to them kind of rudely. But I don't remember any of it."

Daly sucked in his breath and took a step back. "Simon HAS succeeded, then."  
"Succeeded with what?"

"Perry, your body was possessed. Simon knocked you out and put someone else in temporarily."

* * *

Perry stared at Daly. He wasn't sure how he should react.

"I know about possession." Daly said. "I've read up on it. You can tell when a person has been possessed because their eyes and voice change. The eyes change color because otherwise they wouldn't be able to handle the new spirit, and would basically explode very messily out of your skull."  
Perry made a face, but Daly seemed overjoyed to explain all of the details. "The voice changes to the voice of the new spirit. Do you understand?"

"Yeah…"

"You're probably being possessed right now as we speak." Daly said, looking worried.

"How do we prevent it?" Terrence asked. He gave Perry a look of pity.

"We can't." Daly said. "Unless we can stop Simon from his stupid project, and I don't have the ability to do that. Not unless I know where, when and how he died."

"Maybe one of the townspeople will know." Terrence said.

"Doubt it." Daly said.

"I can look for information in the real world, too." Perry said.

"Oh, and Gluum isn't real?" Daly asked, appearing very offended.

"Why would someone want to possess you?" Terrence asked.

"They want my good looks." Perry joked.

"You'll have to be careful." Daly said. "At the moment, Simon can only possess you for a few minutes at a time. But eventually, it will become permanent. I do not know when that time will come."

"What will happen to me if that happens?"

Daly gave him a serious stare. "If that happens, then you will die."

* * *

"I'm sorry I got home so late." Perry apologized. "I fainted again. Hey, what's that?"  
Ferb looked where he was pointing. "Stapler."  
"I've never seen one."  
Ferb showed him how to use it and handed it to him.

"Cool." Perry started opening and closing it. "So, can we play fetch today?"

"I'm busy." Phineas was reading a paperback book. "But maybe in like an hour or so. When I finish my book."

Perry stapled Ferb's shoelaces together. "Why not now?"

"Because I'm still reading." Phineas set his book aside. "I'll be right back. I'm going to get popcorn."

Perry stapled Phineas's book closed.

Ferb swung his feet happily, the staple in his shoelaces still holding on.

Phineas came back with a popcorn bowl and sat down on the couch. He looked at his book. "Hey! Perry, did you…"  
Perry nodded and stapled the book to the couch.

"Ferb, take the stapler away from him!"

"But he likes it."

"What are we gonna do for entertainment now?" Phineas asked. "Perry made sure reading isn't an option."

"We can play fetch." Perry said. "Or we could play 'How many pieces of popcorn can you feed to Perry'."

"Let's play Truth or Dare." Ferb suggested.

"I dare you to feed me a worm." Perry said.

"No!" Phineas said. "Let's play something else."

"Fetch!" Perry said.

"Okay. Get your tennis ball."  
Perry brought Phineas his ball. Phineas threw it.

Perry liked fetch. Phineas threw the ball, and Perry got to run for the ball and bring it back. And then they would do it again. And again. And again. And again.

Sometimes he gave the ball to Ferb so he could throw, too, but Ferb used fake throws too often, and that wasn't much fun.

When Perry brought Phineas the ball the third time, Phineas handed it to Ferb. Ferb placed the ball into his attached shoelaces and pulled back on them like a slingshot.

Perry chased after the ball, grabbed it up in his mouth, and brought it back.

A hair from the ball got caught in his throat, and he coughed a little.

Phineas and Ferb backed up.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just… you were hacking kind of like that… after that weird thing happened." Phineas said.

Perry thought a moment. "Oh. You know, it's good you reminded me. I forgot to tell you, I found out why it happened."

"Why?"

"I was possessed." Perry dropped the ball in Phineas's lap. "Throw again?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Don't distract me. The only reason I passed my driver's test last week is because I managed to stop the car before I ran off the edge of a cliff."

"That's nice." Phineas said nervously. Perry looked a little murderous behind the wheel. "Uh… are you sure you can drive us to Isabella's party safely?"

"Phineas, driving with me is perfectly safe. You know why? Because I REFUSE to crash. I will find some way to maneuver around cars-" Perry jerked the steering wheel to the left just in time to avoid a huge statue of a pig. "Don't talk to me. I lose my concentration."  
"Sorry. Didn't mean to stress you out." Phineas turned to Ferb. "Did you bring the present?"  
"I thought you did."

"Ferb, I told you to bring it!"

"Guys! I almost ran into Paul Bunyan's!" Perry sounded really panicked. "Not another word until we get there, you understand?"

The boys sat in silence for a while.

"Armpit." Ferb whispered.

"Shh!" Phineas hushed him.

"Armpit. Armpit armpit armpit."

Perry pulled over and stepped on the brake. "Stay in the car."

"What? What's going on?" Phineas asked.

"I'm feeling shaky again." Perry got out of the car and handed Phineas the keys. "Stay in Linda's car."

Perry collapsed.

The boys waited nervously. Perry began to stand up.

His eyes had become black with the glowing centers.

"Not Perry is back." Phineas whispered to Ferb.

"Didn't see you two last time." Not Perry commented. "Why do you hang around with Perry, anyway?"

"He's our pet. Why do you hang around in his BODY?"  
"Keep your friends close and the enemies of your friends closer." Not Perry said.

"Enemy? You don't like Perry?"  
"I don't know him. But my friend hates him. So whatever."  
"Who are you, anyway?" Phineas asked.

"People call me Wizard."

* * *

"I was driving the boys to a party."

"Did you crash or something?"

"No, I parked before I fainted."

"Smart choice."

Terrence and Perry were following Daly up some huge steps. Daly seemed to be having a hard time climbing them.

"Keep it up. Only a few more steps." Daly breathed. Perry wasn't sure whether he was talking to them or himself.

They were pretty high up from the ground.

"What happens if you fall in Gluum?" Perry asked.

"I think you just float down." Terrence said.

Daly pointed at a small niche in the wall at the top of the stairs. He was holding on as tightly as he could to the stair handrail. "That… that is where… we…" He slid down a couple of steps. "You two… go on. I need to go back down."

He ran back down the stairs.

"He's never been like this before." Terrence said. "It's scary."

"I don't know Daly very well, but I'll take your word for it." Perry climbed over to the niche. "Look, Terrence, a door."

"This is where Gothe lives." Terrence said. "But why would Daly want us to visit here?"  
"Wanna go ask him?" Perry pointed down the stairs.

"No thanks."

"Who's Gowth?"

"Gothe."  
"That's what I just said."

"Gothe came down here in a really weird way. He was… born here, somehow, as a ghost. He picked this place out when he was two and has been living here ever since." Terrence knocked on the door.

A cheerful little squeal sounded from inside. Perry thought he understood. "Did he just tell us to 'enter'?"

"Yep." Terrence pushed open the door, and they stepped inside.

The room was dark, and in the middle floated a little blue creature of smoke. His eyes looked sinister, but he also seemed pretty happy.

"Gothe… we've never met, but we're friends of Daly." Terrence said slowly. "I'm Terrence and that's Perry."

"You're talking to a decapitated smoke head." Perry said.

Gothe glared at him. "Diedie…" He trilled.

"Perry was just joking." Terrence said quickly. "He was just trying to describe how frightening you are."  
Gothe beamed. "I like scarescare. And win. Gothe will win everything." He floated happily in a circle.

"What is the point of this conversation?" Perry asked Terrence.

"Simon is taking oveeer!" Gothe screeched loudly. Perry covered his ears.

"Yeah, we know." Perry said. "We actually came to see if you could help us."

"Help?" Gothe asked curiously. "How shall Gothe help?"  
"Daly has to know where, when, and how Simon Sircumference died in order to defeat him." Terrence explained.

"Ghoooostts can help." Gothe said, doing a little tumble in the air.

"How do we find them?" Perry asked.

"Graveyard. In the living world." Gothe sang. "Go to a graveyard. Before midnight and after dark. And sit in the middle of it."

"Then will the ghosts come?" Perry asked.

"No. No living thing can SEE a ghost right away." Gothe said. "They come when they smell their own kind."

"So…" Perry tried to understand what Gothe was squeaking about. "So you're saying we should… get a ghost to accompany us?"

"No. What you do is you think. Close your eyes and think of the time when you felt the most dead. Think of that time very hard. Then think of the time when your heart felt the most dead. You will emanate ghostly aura, and the ghosts will come to you."

"Sounds creepy." Perry said.

"You must be brave." Gothe said. "And you can survive anything if you are brave: Villains, enemies, dancing pigs…"

"Dancing pigs?"

"With sharp teeth." Gothe said. "But the point is, you must be ready for anything, and that is when you can be brave."

Gothe turned around and sat in silence on the floor.

"Aaaaa…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIII!" Gothe blasted upward and grew huge. His eyes burst into purple flames, and his mouth filled with humongous fangs.

Perry turned away and covered his face. Terrence screamed. Gothe wailed mournfully.

Then Gothe shrank again until he was back to his normal appearance. "You did not make a sound. You are brave. You can find the ghosts now."

* * *

Sitting in a graveyard wasn't exactly fun.

Perry would have liked to bring Phineas and Ferb with him, but Linda wasn't allowing them out of the house after dark anymore. He was alone.

Alone with a bunch of ghosts he was about to summon.

Perry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tried to think of a time when he felt dead.

_Perry's lungs were refusing to work anymore. He knew he was going to have to stop. His body was unable to take it._

_Perry collapsed, panting, into the grass. Everything ached._

_"Get up."_

_Perry didn't look up at Ellen the eagle. "Please. No. I can't run any more."_

_"You CAN, wimp, and you're going to run until I tell you to stop. Get off of your lazy butt and run."_

_"I can't."_

_Ellen bent down next to him. "Do you know why I'm so hard on you?" She asked gently._

_Perry shook his head._

_"It's because I know that you have a lot of potential. You have so much more in you than you realize. You are an amazing agent."_

_Perry didn't answer._

_"And whether you're too stupid or too lazy to realize that, I don't know. Get up and give me some jumping jacks."_

Perry shook himself out of the memory. That wasn't what feeling dead felt like. That was feeling like every part on your body was on fire.

There must have been another time…

_Perry managed to heave himself through the pet door. He flopped on the ground and closed his eyes. He still had his fedora on, but he didn't care._

_His breathing was getting shorter. Dennis was too powerful. The agency would probably fall._

_"Perry?"_

_Perry opened one eye. Phineas and Ferb were staring at him._

_"Perry, you're all banged up. Are you okay? Why are you wearing a hat?"_

_Perry reached into his fur pocket, even though it took great effort, and stuck Piggy Woo in his mouth. Piggy Woo was the translatorinator Doofenshmirtz had made him._

_"The O.W.C.A needs… you. Please… take my collar… when I…" Perry swallowed. "It's too late for me. You can do this."_

_"Perry talks?" Ferb said, his eyes wide._

_"Apparently more than you." Phineas said jokingly. Then he turned back to Perry. "You okay, boy?"_

_"Too late… for me…"_

_Phineas seemed to understand. He sat down and held Perry in his lap. Perry continued to struggle with breathing._

_"I love you…" Perry said quietly._

_"Ferb, remember that platypus curer we built last week?" Phineas asked._

_Ferb nodded._

_"Well, we better start rebuilding it. I know what we're gonna do today."_

That was it. Perry felt a cold chill against his shoulder, and a slight whisper.

What was next? A dying heart. What Gothe probably meant by that was a broken heart. But Perry couldn't remember a time when he had been truly upset.

_"He's stopping me." Doofenshmirtz assured Perry, backing him out of Evil Incorporated. "Goodbye!"_

_Perry trudged down the hall. That was it? All the fights, all the work had been nothing? Doofenshmirtz was just going to say goodbye and forget about him?_

_It had to be a mistake._

_Perry turned around, almost ready to go back inside._

_"CURSE YOU, PETER THE PANDA!"_

No. That definitely wasn't it. Perry felt no pain from the memory. He tried to think up another.

A time when he was truly sad.

_"But I guess you can't have a team without trust."_

_Perry stood and let Phineas vent at him. He wished he could explain everything._

_But would explaining really help at this point?  
"You don't have to sneak around anymore." Phineas pointed toward the door. "You can just go."  
Holding back his tears, Perry hung his head and made his way to the door._

_He would leave. Only because it would protect the boys._

_And if Phineas didn't want him around, what was the point, anyway?_

"Who goes there?" Asked a slithering voice.

Perry opened his eyes and stood up. Cold air was forming around him.

Then, very slowly, hundreds of white, shapeless fogs began to steam out of the ground.

"Hey… guys." Perry said nervously.


	5. Chapter 5

One of the transparent people sauntered closer to Perry. "Why is a platypus here?"

"Be gentle, Horace." A ghost woman said. "That platypus knows my brother-in-law's son."

"Oh hush, Elena Monogram!" Another ghost snapped.

Elena floated closer to Perry. "How is he? Is he doing great?"

"Wanna see how my body looks now?" A ghost asked, beginning to change his appearance to a more rotted one.

"Uh… no thanks." Perry said quickly.

"Hmph." The ghost said, folding his arms.

"I… came to see if any of you know someone named Simon Sircumference." Perry said.

The ghosts all seemed to begin thinking.

"I know a Simon Stevens." Said Elena.

"Your boyfriend from college." Horace taunted.

Elena blushed.

"I'm going to the moon!" Said the ghost of a baby hedgehog, floating upward as he span.

"Sircumference. Simon Sircumference." Horace said, as though he were remembering something. "The name is familiar. I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Do raisins ever expire?" Asked the rotten ghost, who had changed back to his normal ghostly appearance. "Because if they don't, I think I have some in my pocket from when I died seventeen years ago."

"The worms will have eaten them, dummy." Horace said. "And what good would they do US, anyway?"

"I was thinking the platypus might be hungry."

"The moooonnnnnn." Sang the baby hedgehog, twirling aimlessly away.

"Guys!" Perry shouted as the ghosts started to squabble. "It's really kind of you to offer me ancient raisins from a dead guy's pocket. But can we please focus on…"

"Simon Sircumference." A deep voice said from a distance. "I know who he is."

A ghost emerged from the crowd and smiled at Perry with pointed teeth. "Hello, Perry the platypus. It's been a long time."

Perry clenched his fists.

* * *

"Stanley." Perry said.

The snake ghost slithered forward on the air. "Hello, Perry, how have you been? Did you finally learn how to punch someone?"

"Look, I know we were rivals back when you were alive…" Perry began.

"Oh, no, Perry, why would you think we were rivals?" Stanley asked, giving him a sinister smile. "Sure, we might have been pitted against each other a couple times, and I might have WON a couple of our 'friendly' battles, but really, what's all this rival talk?"

Stanley came so close to Perry's face that he could feel the snake's icy breath. "I always WAS a better fighter than you." He hissed.

Perry growled.

Stanley smiled more warmly, apparently sensing that he had taunted Perry badly enough. "Now, this Simon… I know everything about him. You see, he was the head of my host family back when I was an O.W.C.A agent. What is it you want to know?"

"I could beat you with my hands tied behind my back."

Stanley gave a laugh. "Oh really? And who was the one who landed square on his back after taking a hit that a baby bunny would be able to endure?"  
Perry felt his face get hot with anger. He gritted his teeth.

"You look like a tomato." Stanley smirked.

"You're just jealous because I was named top agent at age two." Perry retorted.

"I'm sure the whole thing was very gratifying for you." Stanley said in a tone that was less than friendly. "But whatever. I just hope you've learned to be more… stable. What do you want to know about Simon?"

"Where… when… and how did he die?" Perry asked.

Stanley thought a moment. "I'm not sure I was alive when that happened, but I did witness it. I may have been a ghost, I may not have. But he died… I'd say seven years ago. Yes, I must have been alive. Seven years ago. It will be eight years on December sixteenth, seven-thirty AM. He died inside his workshop. I remember it clearly. I was coiled up in my pet bed next to his desk. His son, Nicholas, was petting me. Simon was supposed to take Nicholas to school that morning. But at exactly seven-thirty, Nicholas got up, slipped something into Simon's coffee, and just left the room. I thought nothing of it at first. Nick always was a trickster. But then Simon took a drink, gasped, and fell down dead."

"Nicholas killed him?" Perry asked, shocked.

Stanley's eyes became slits. "Murder. I wouldn't mess with Simon, if you ever run into his ghost. Murder tends to make souls a little… vengeful."

Perry was shoved down by a cold wind. Stanley chuckled softly.

"You're a worthy rival, Perry." Stanley said. "If there's one thing I miss from my life, it would be our little battles. Remember those? Such fun."

"I remember I won a ton of them."

"And?"

"And I lost some too." Perry admitted. "But that was only because I got distracted."

"Of course you did." Stanley said sweetly.

"Moon moon." The baby hedgehog said. He was now a pretty good distance away from the graveyard.

"Goodbye, and good luck to you, Perry the platypus." Stanley's white form slithered into the ground and was gone.

"Buona fortuna!" Horace said as he was sucked into a grave.

"I say good tuna to you, too!" The raisin ghost said.

"NOO!" Squealed the baby hedgehog as some invisible force pulled him back into the ground. "The mooonnnnnn!"

One by one, all of the ghosts vanished, and Perry was alone.

"That was SO COOL!" A familiar voice said.

Perry whirled around. "Boys! What are you doing here?"

"We followed you." Phineas said. "That was awesome! How'd you get those ghosts to come out of the ground like that?"

"What's Ferb eating?" Perry asked.

"Raisins. I don't know where he got them from." Phineas said.

Perry suddenly felt a little sick to his stomach.

"Who was that snake guy?" Phineas asked. "At first I thought you were enemies, and then I thought you were friends, and then…"  
"Stanley? He's just an agent I knew when I was little." Perry said.

"Cool." Phineas stood up and brushed his pants off. "By the way, Ferb's been reading a book about Possession. He thought it would help figure some stuff out."

Ferb pulled out a small book from his back pocket and started reading quietly. "A body can be possessed in three different ways: Partial Possession, Full Possession, and Slight Possession. Slight Possession occurs when a spirit can put a thought into the possessed one's head. Partial Possession is when a spirit is able to control a possessed one's body, but not their mind. Full Possession is when a spirit basically takes over the whole body and the possessed one must go somewhere else for a while."

"We're obviously dealing with Full Possession." Perry said.

"Possession is a powerful thing, but is more likely to happen in spirit-filled places, like in haunted houses or graveyards."

Perry began to feel as though something was tugging at him. "Guys…"

* * *

"This is the longest I've been down here." Perry said.

He and Terrence were playing cards and waiting for Daly to return from the supermarket so they could tell him the Simon information.

"How's life been?" Terrence asked, putting down an ace.

"Pretty good, I guess." Perry said.

"And the agency?"

"Good. Monogram actually drew a picture of you a couple of weeks ago. It kind of threw me. He traced his hand and drew in turkey features and was all like, 'Look, it's Agent T'!"

"Good to know he still remembers me." Terrence said fondly. "I miss that guy."  
"I don't think he remembers you're dead sometimes." Perry said.

"He's a busy guy." Terrence said.

Daly came running up to them. "Sorry… it took… so long… out… of breath…"

"You don't look so good." Perry said.

Daly shrugged. "Simon's… weakening me… you got the information?"  
"He died seven years ago on December sixteenth at seven thirty AM, and was murdered by his son slipping something into his drink." Perry said.

"Always thought the guy was vengeful." Daly said. "You know those murdered types." His eyes glowed. "I'll get him. I'll get him for breaking the rules and destroying my wonderful town."  
A thought occurred to Perry. "Daly… were… YOU murdered?"

Daly smiled. "Yep. You're the first to figure it out."

Terrence looked up from the game of cards. He raised his eyebrows. "Really? You never told me you were murdered."

Daly shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. I was in a fight with another dog over property. No big deal."

"Wait… Terrence was murdered." Perry said. "Why is he still the same and not all… as you say… vengeful?"

Daly turned to Terrence. "Terrence, who murdered you?"  
"I wouldn't exactly say he intended _murder_ when he killed me…" Terrence began.

"Who?" Daly repeated.

"My owner, Jack." Terrence said.

"And were you close to Jack?"

Terrence thought a moment. "Well… he fed me. But that was pretty much it."

Daly turned back to Perry. "Indifference, that's the key. If you were enemies with someone who killed you, like I was, you'd be angry and want to get back at them. If you were close to someone who killed you, you'd be hurt and upset and betrayed and want to get back at them. But if you don't really care one way or the other, what's the point?"

"Interesting theory." Perry said.

"Thanks. I just thought it up." Daly said proudly. "Now, if you excuse me, I have to get someone who is currently trying to possess a body."

* * *

"Listen to me one last time, you creep." Wizard said, pressing Phineas against a tree trunk. "Where. Is. The. O.W.C.A."

"I don't know!" Phineas told him for the eighty-third time. "I swear! Perry never told me."

"Wrong answer." Wizard growled. He threw a punch at Phineas, and Phineas ducked. He grabbed Wizard and threw him against the tree.

Wizard jumped at him, and Phineas hit him in the side of the head.

Suddenly Wizard fell. His eyes turned completely white, and Perry's body hit the ground.

Shaking, Phineas approached him.

Ferb looked on from behind Phineas. "I think you just killed Perry." He said.

* * *

"I banished them from Gluum." Daly said happily. Gluum was already beginning to deteriorate into its former gloomy self. "Simon and Wizard are gone."

"Where did they go?" Terrence asked.

Daly made a face. "I dunno. Probably some other place for souls. Or maybe they came back to life as a roach or something. Best of luck to them that they become better people someday."

"Well, Perry left." Terrence said, looking back at the unfinished card game. "I miss him a ton."

"That is a good soul, if I ever saw one." Daly said fondly. "Too sad, though. Poor thing must have a lot on his shoulders."

* * *

Perry sat up and shook himself off. He felt a kick on his side.

"Are you dead? Are you dead?"

"Gosh, Phineas, you have to learn not to do that every time you think someone's dead!" Perry sat up and spit dirt out of his mouth. He rubbed the side of his head. "Ow. I feel like someone punched me on my right temple."

"He's alive!" Ferb said happily.

"Of course I'm alive." Perry scratched his side. "Let's get out of this stupid graveyard."

"Before you get possessed again." Phineas finished.

"Don't worry. I don't think Wizard's going to bother me anymore." Perry said.

"That's a relief." Phineas said. "Because he was threatening to attack the agency. He said the 'harbor plan' wasn't working."

"Harbor plan?" Perry asked. His videophone buzzed.

"Are you gonna get that?" Phineas asked.

Perry shook his head. "I'll call them back in a bit. Let's get you two home."


	6. Chapter 6

After Phineas and Ferb had gone to sleep, Perry redialed the number that had called him back in the graveyard.

He waited as it rang.

"Gosh, don't you answer your phone anymore?" Someone demanded. "I kind of had some time-sensitive information!"

Perry squinted, trying to figure out who he had called. "…Palmer?"

"Yeah. Don't you remember me? Last time I saw you, I put hot sauce in the milk jug."

"Gosh… yes, I remember you… I just… you're so much bigger now."

"Look, I was helping the other agents hold down the harbor, but the rogues outnumbered us. They're planning to head through a pipe into the main control center of the agency."

"You've been fighting?"

"Yes, and I lost. That's why I called you. And when I got no answer, I tried calling the security agents. No service."

"Pal-"

"I can't hold them off. I'm sorry." Palmer said in an annoyed tone. "Now get down here and see if you can stop them!"

Perry looked toward Phineas and Ferb.

"What?" Palmer asked.

"Palmer… I can't. I can't face a whole pile of rogues. The boys have gone through enough tonight. I don't want them waking up and finding me gone."

"Guess my friend King was right about you." Palmer said softly.

"What did King say?" Perry asked.

"He said you didn't care about me as much as you cared about those humans. He said if you ever had to choose, you'd pick them. They're safe in bed and I'm here in the middle of some stupid battle. I'm calling mom. Don't bother coming down here."

"Pal…"

"Look. I know I was an accident, okay? I know you didn't mean to have me. Well, ya did, and I'm sorry. I'm a pain, and I'll leave you alone."

"Palmer, you're not a pain! You're my son. I love you! And you are not an accident..."

"You don't have to lie to me. You don't owe me anything." Palmer hung up.

Perry went to the harbor.

* * *

The harbor was completely empty when Perry arrived. Empty except for a platypus sitting at one of the docks.

Perry went over to Palmer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Pal? Where are the rogues?"  
"Gone." Palmer said. He tossed a rock into the water. "They've been gone for hours. We chased them off."  
"You wanted to see if I would come."

"Yep." Palmer tossed in another rock.

"Palmer, even if I didn't expect to have you… I still love you. You mean a lot to me. You're not an accident. You were a wonderful surprise."

"If I meant a lot to you, you'd come over more."

Perry sat down next to him. "That has nothing to do with you. I'm busy. I'm an agent half the time and a pet the rest."

"You're a father, too." Palmer grumbled.

"I know. I'm sorry. I try my best, but… I don't really know how to be a parent. I flunked Baby Care Training."

"You flunked it?"

"We had to look after these little stuffed animals. I put mine in the blender."

"Why?"

"Because its name was Smoothie." Perry explained. "I would have gotten fixed, but Monogram just had me redo the training instead."

"And how did you do the second time?"

"I am now officially a genius at caring for a stuffed animal. But that's nothing like the real thing."

Palmer shrugged.

"I'm sorry if you feel neglected." Perry said. "I really wish I could do better. But we just have to make the most of whatever time we get together, okay?"

"Just so long as you promise to never put me in the blender."

"You will never suffer the fate of Smoothie." Perry promised. "I gotta get home. And you should, too. Pops is probably freaking out over you."

"Okay." Palmer stood up. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

"What happened to your eye?" Ferb asked.

Phineas pointed at the vending machine down the street. "I was hungry, and Perry had this banana…"

"And I thought it was ripe. The skin had been green for a week, but since it had gone that long, I just figured the peel was lying." Perry continued.

"So then I tried to open it, and it was really hard, but I finally got it. AND THEN I bit the banana, and it went CRUNCH."

Perry shuddered. "That is not a natural sound that comes from a banana."  
"Then I threw the banana away, and Perry gave me a dollar to get something from the vending machine. And I bought a seventy-five cent bag of cookies. But then the vending machine spit- literally SPIT- the change out, and it hit me in the eye!"

"The vending machine is evil." Perry said.

"And the banana is guilty by association." Phineas said.

Ferb stared at them. "Maybe the vending machine is possessed."

Phineas and Perry looked at him.

"What, too soon?" Ferb asked.


End file.
